Ghana coach Maxwell Konadu praised his players’ resilience after the Black Satellites fought back to draw 1-1 with Burkina Faso at the 2026 WAFU B U-20 Championship in Yamoussoukro, Cote d’Ivoire.
Ghana played most of the match with 10 men after defender Kofi Junior Kumah was sent off early in the Group B encounter. However, Joseph Badu’s first-half equaliser earned the Black Satellites a valuable point and preserved their hopes of finishing the group stage strongly.
Konadu felt his side had done enough to claim victory, despite the disruption caused by the early dismissal.
“It was a very difficult match. We had a red card in the early minutes, which distracted us because we had to make changes and move players into unfamiliar positions. But despite that, the game was keenly contested and I think we did our best. We played better and should have carried the day.”
The sending-off forced Ghana’s technical team to abandon its initial tactical plan and restructure the side during the game. Konadu said the team moved from a 4-3-3 formation to a 3-5-1 in an attempt to remain competitive while also creating opportunities in attack.
“We needed to change the system, and that’s exactly what we did. We switched from a 4-3-3 to a 3-5-1, and that created a lot of scoring opportunities for us.”
After Badu restored parity, Ghana continued to push for a second goal. Konadu believed the Black Satellites had established control at that stage and should have taken advantage of their momentum.
“Our strikers did everything possible and the midfielders worked extremely hard, but the second goal just wouldn’t come. We equalised when we were on top of the game, and that was the moment we should have killed the match. Unfortunately, we were unlucky.”
The coach said the team’s attacking intentions did not change after it was reduced to 10 players. Kelvin was tasked with operating in the wide areas, while Latif and Amakye were introduced to provide a threat in the final stages.
“The game plan was to use Kelvin to exploit the wide areas, with Latif and Amakye coming on to finish things off. The red card disrupted those plans, but we never gave up. When they came on, they created chances. The ball just refused to go into the net.”
Konadu said he was particularly pleased with the players’ determination and discipline in difficult circumstances. Ghana will face Togo in their final Group B match on Sunday, with a win the immediate target before the outcome of the Nigeria-Burkina Faso game is known.
“I’m proud of the boys. Even though we couldn’t win, we’ll keep fighting. We’ll try to beat Togo and then see what happens in the Nigeria-Burkina Faso game. We believed we could beat Burkina Faso and we created so many chances. Sometimes that’s football – you just have to accept it and move on. The boys did so well, even with one man down.”
Although Burkina Faso had won their opening match 3-1, Konadu felt Ghana matched their opponents and controlled much of the contest.
“Burkina Faso are not a bad team. They won 3-1 in their first match, but today they couldn’t really come to the party. I thought we controlled most of the game.”
Ghana made two changes to the starting line-up, including one in goal and another in midfield. One centre-back was moved into a defensive midfield position, a decision Konadu said had worked well and could be considered again.
“We changed two players – the goalkeeper and one midfielder. We moved one of our centre-backs into the defensive midfield role and he did really well. Going forward, that’s something we’ll think about. In the last game we’ll also give other players the chance to experience the tournament because everyone has a role to play in our preparations. But first and foremost, we want to win. We have to win at least one game before we leave here.”
Ghana have already secured automatic qualification for the 2027 TotalEnergies CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations as hosts. Nevertheless, the WAFU B U-20 Championship remains an important part of their preparations, offering competitive experience and helping Konadu build cohesion within the squad before next year’s tournament.
